1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to hand-held tools, and more particularly, to a hand-held electrical tool provided with means for controlling the application of pressure to a workpiece to prevent damage to the work piece.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The operation of soldering and desoldering components on printed circuit boards is highly dependent on the skill and dexterity of the individual operator. Although many variables contribute to successful soldering and desoldering, the most difficult to control is the application of excessive manual pressure during the soldering or desoldering operation.
Single and double-sided printed circuit boards may withstand some abuse, but multilayer printed circuit boards are very susceptible to catastrophic damage from the application of excessive manual pressure such as from soldering and desoldering operations. The application of excessive pressure to circuit pads fractures and pulls away the surface pad from the plated-through hole. Multilayer printed circuit boards valued at several thousand dollars often must be scrapped because of such lifted pads.
The typical hand-held soldering iron and desoldering tool are rigid devices. That is, each has a elongated handle to which is fixedly secured either a soldering tip or a desoldering tip, as the case may be. The application of pressure to the handle by the operator is translated, through the soldering or desoldering tip, directly to the work piece. Such is an undesirable arrangement, indeed, vis-a-vis multilayer circuit boards.
It is, therefore, a principal object of the present invention to overcome this major disadvantage attendant in prior art soldering and desoldering tools and to provide improved apparatus including means for controlling the application of pressure from the hand-held soldering or desoldering tool to the workpiece.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a hand-held tool which is provided with a three-point suspension system for flexibly securing the soldering or desoldering tip to the handle thereby allowing excessive pressure to be absorbed by the suspension system before it can damage the workpiece, such as a printed circuit board.